During the last years of his life the Prophet Joseph Smith gave multiple public sermons dealing with 2 Peter 1, wherein the Apostle Peter encourages his readers to, “give diligence to make your calling and election sure.” Commenting on this phrase, the Prophet Joseph explained that to have one’s calling and election made sure meant to, “obtain a promise from God for yourselves that you shall have eternal life.” And he went on to explain that such a promise could be mediated through the keys restored by Elijah. “By this power of Elijah,” he said on one occasion, “we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise, and to obtain this sealing is to make our calling and election sure.” And in another sermon he confirmed, “The power of Elijah is sufficient to make our calling and election sure.” In 2 Peter 1, Peter also speaks of obtaining the “more sure word of prophecy,” a phrase the prophet Joseph similarly interpreted to mean, “a man’s knowing that he was sealed up unto eternal life through the power of the holy priesthood.” This was the theology: the possibility of being sealed up unto eternal life under the keys restored by Elijah. Then came the practice. Beginning in 1843 in Nauvoo, the prophet introduced a sacred ordinance to his most trusted associates wherein, using the keys of Elijah which he held, husbands and wives were sealed up unto eternal life. And this was not the marriage ordinance—this was more. It was an ordinance sometimes referred to in the historical record as “the Second Anointing.” In this episode of Church History Matters, Casey and I discuss what we know about the theology and early practice of the Second Anointing. We also discuss the early and now discontinued sealing practice called the law of adoption, wherein adult men and women were sealed into the families of church leaders as their children. We also briefly touch on the now-extinct practice of temple-like prayer circles that were conducted outside of the temple for many years in our history. This is the seventh episode of our 10-part podcast series on Temple Worship. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/podcast-episode/the-second-anointing-the-law-of-adoption-non-temple-prayer-circles/ You can also subscribe to our podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other platforms, and follow us on popular social media platforms. Visit https://linktr.ee/churchhistorymatters to connect with us. Originally published April 23, 2024 DISCLAIMER: While we try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.